yesterday night it just said "Televison signal has been lost" for every channel.

"Its not HDMI if you see the STB's "signal lost" message. If its an HDMI issue you see nothing, just a black screen with the "no signal" message that your TV uses, not the "signal lost" message presented by the STB. The difference should be that a STB will report "signal lost" whereas the TV will report "no signal".

If it is "signal lost" from the STB and not "no signal" from the TV, then this sounds like a data throughput issue to the STB IMO. The STB puts up that 'signal lost' message when it loses sync, or has too many errors but maintains sync. STBs will show sync on as little as 2.5 mbps service, they may even try to show video, but it will be really chunky and won't be watchable. HD won't work at those rates at all.

If your STB is coax fed its very nearly certain that issues with the coax network in your home are causing this. OptikTV can use the coax in your home for distribution, but its not used in the same way as Shaw or satellite. They send RF through the cable (captive radio signal), but TELUS is IPTV so it uses the coax as a data network (HPNA) so there are installation considerations that are extremely important for reliable service. This is why you can fix the STB in the short term by powercycling it. Rebooting it is clearing out all the errors that it has received and setting it on a fresh course, one that unfortunately will still result in the same outcome given the passage of time. If your STBs are CAT5 fed it's probably a hardware issue. This is less common, but not unheard of.

Coax issues that affect OptikTV include,
- crimped on coax connectors (they MUST be compression type, no other type is correct), the ones behind the jacks are often missed

- bad or worn out old coax barrels (the barrels in the jacks and any others should be replaced with new on installation)

- loose connections (all OptikTV coax connections from the modem to the STB must be finger tight, then an 1/8 of a turn with a 7/16 wrench, including splitters and barrels where used, this does not include the coax connections from the STB to the TV if any, do not tighten these with a wrench, TV damage could occur!)

- old or damaged coax connection cables (the cables from the wall to the STB should always be made up new to ensure they aren't previously damaged)

- improper splitters used or too many splitters used (OptikTV must use only the "Holland" type of HPNA splitter, the ones used by Shaw or put in by homeowners are not acceptable, they are not intended for HPNA, there can also be no more than TWO splitters used in the entire installation."

This guy seems to have the answer, but can someone simplify on how to do this or even help me with another way? I'm not tech savvy at all. I do not know what coax network or even what jacks are!

@DerangedHermit, it sounds like the message was generated by your TV. Try unplugging the cable the connects the TV to your Set-top-box at both ends and plugging it back in. That solved the original problem.

If that doesn't work, more info would be helpful.
- The type of cable connecting the TV to the STB
- The make and model of your TV
- Do the other TVs in your home work (if you have more that one)
- How long your installation has been working

@DerangedHermit, you are seeing a message from the STB so the problems is not the connection between the TV and the STB.

It seems the problem is the connection between the STB and the Telus modem. I assumw nothing has changed that affects the wiring. In that case, the person who is responsible for the account should contact Telus for a service call.

I recently returned to Canada after being in the U.S. for some time, I was treated very well there. Telus is absolutely dismal and would be dissolved if in the U.S. Their service is so bush league, I am embarrassed for them. They seem to be in way over their head. I had telus installation and the very next day I lost video signal. A tech came out and told me this would happen repeatedly - really?

I have read many of your technical answers, but that is obscuring the big picture. TELUS IS INCOMPETENT AND UNPREPARED FOR THE MYRIAD OF PROBLEMS.

4 hours after the tech left - again no video signal. I have lost the last 4 days of TV viewing.

I logged into their website, but their server is down.

After reading your posts you all appear to be very bright and tech savvy. So stand back for a moment and imagine your mom struggling with this technical issue. Using Xbox, coaxil, etc. should not be required. I pay a very high monthly rate for absolute mediocrity. My interests lie in other areas and I shouldn't need to be a technician in order to watch tv and nor should you all know how to make turkey gravy or know how to get rust stains out of your sink. When I lived in the U.S. I spent very valuable time in a telecommunications company watching Nortel next door going down the drain.

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

OR

Log-in

User Name

Password

Remember Me?

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.